The Paranormal Database

The bell house at East Bergholt church, Suffolk.

Missing Steeple

Location: East Bergholt (Suffolk) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Bell house still stands
Further Comments: Night after night, during the construction of the church, the Devil appeared and pulled down the steeple. The builders finally gave up building the tower, and the bells now stand in a little bell house.

Dropped

Location: East Knoyle (Wiltshire) - Large stone (exact location unknown)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A large stone in the village was once believed unmovable and was said to have been dropped by the Devil as he constructed Stonehenge.

Dropped in a Huff

Location: East Worlington (Devon) - Standing Stone (private land)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Stone still present
Further Comments: Angered after hearing the bells of East Worlington church, the Devil dropped this stone - some say it cannot be moved by man or beast. Four crosses decorate the stone.

Lady Elizabeth Hatton

Location: EC1N (Greater London) - Bleeding Heart Yard
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A bloody local legend says that Elizabeth was found here in 1626, her four limbs ripped from her body, but her heart still beating. She was last spotted dancing with a tall dark figure, said to be the devil.

Countless Stones

Location: Eccles (Kent) - Little (or Lower) Kit's Coty
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: A baker attempted to count the stones here, to prove that it was possible to number the so-called 'countless stones'. The baker placed a loaf of bread on each rock, and when complete, counted each one he took back. The Devil had other plans, however, and consumed several loaves before the baker had finished.

Entrance to Hell

Location: Eldon (Derbyshire) - Pothole near the village
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: This hole is said to be bottomless and used by Old Nick to travel between this world and his own.

Built by the Devil

Location: Exmoor (Devon) - Tarr Bridge (also known as Tarr Steps), River Barle
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: A local giant made a wager with Old Nick that that a bridge could not be built across the River Barle overnight. Old Nick rolled up his sleeves and promptly proved him wrong. The Devil then took ownership of the bridge, refusing to let anyone cross safely until a priest drove him away.

Devil's Footprints

Location: Exmouth (Devon) - Backenhayes Farm
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: 8/9 February 1855 (footprints), ghost sighting unknown, ABC between 1982-1990
Further Comments: The Devil's Footprints ran for one hundred miles across Devon, appearing overnight after a light snowfall. One of the locations they were reported was on this farm, the tracks being recorded on the roof and second floor window. The house is also reputed to be haunted by a blue lady, while a fawn coloured large cat was seen several times over an eight year period.

Disguised Devil

Location: Fair Snape Fell (Lancashire) - Exact area unknown
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil is said to haunt these rocks, disguising himself as a beautiful woman to lure young men to their deaths. Another version of the story drops the Devil from the story, with the female entity capable of beguiling men to fall from the crags.

Fishy Devil

Location: Filey (North Yorkshire) - Filey Brigg
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: While changing the landscape to make it more hazardous for sailors, the Devil dropped his hammer into the sea. Reaching in to retrieve the tool, the Devil pulled out a haddock, creating marks on the fish which can still be seen today.

Moving Stones

Location: Folke (Dorset) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: During construction of the church
Further Comments: The construction of the church started in Broke Wood, but every night the work which was done was undone and the building materials moved to where the church now stands. Another version of the story says the Devil moved the stones to prevent any work being done but failed.

White Oxen

Location: Fyfield (Wiltshire) - Devil's Den, Dolmen
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: At midnight
Further Comments: On the stroke of midnight, the Devil appears and tries to pull this stone structure down using eight white oxen. A white hare or rabbit also joins them, offering advice. A second variation of the story says the Devil uses four oxen, and a black hound with glowing red eyes watches them. Another legend says that water poured into the cavities on the top stone will quickly vanish, drunk by an unknown horror.

Devil's Stone

Location: Gatherley Moor (North Yorkshire) - Northern area
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown is stone is still present
Further Comments: The Devil became vexed with the occupants of Gilling village and lobbed a stone at them. As is tradition, he missed, and the stone, complete with his finger marks, landed and remained on the moor.

Hobgoblin Builders

Location: Gifford (Lothian) - Yester Castle (ruins)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present, although only subterranean 'Goblin Hall remains'
Further Comments: Warlock Sir Hugo de Giffard is said to have made a pact with the Devil, and in return had an army of Hobgoblins build this castle for him. A staircase in the hall was filled with earth as it was believed it led straight to hell.

Devil on Top

Location: Glasgow (Lanarkshire) - Jack's Mountain (no longer standing)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Circa 1950s
Further Comments: Jack's Mountain was a local name for a massive pile of rubbish and slag which stood, by some accounts, 30 metres tall. A local legend said that the Devil lurked on top.

Unlucky Strike

Location: Graveley (Hereford & Worcester) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil tried to throw several lumps of earth at Stevenage - he missed the town, but one of the shots knocked down the steeple at Graveley church.

The Infidel's Bible

Location: Great Gransden (Cambridgeshire) - Gransden Post Mill
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: 1860s
Further Comments: A copy of The Infidel's Bible, a black magic book, was accidentally left in the mill and forgotten about. Within days the mill stopped working, and for three years no-one could figure out why. After that time, the book was rediscovered in the mill and burnt - almost immediately, the mill started turning once more.

Devil

Location: Great Kimble (Buckinghamshire) - Chequers Park - Cymbeline's Mount (or Castle)
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Anyone who runs around this ancient work seven times will bump into Old Nick at the end of their journey.

Built in a Night

Location: Grosmont (Gwent) - Bridge between Grosmont and Kentchurch
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The Devil agreed to build a bridge between the two locations over the river Monnow, but on condition that he would have the soul of the first creature to cross. Before using the bridge for the first time, a local woman threw a bone for her dog across the bridge - the canine ran to fetch it, and thus cheated the Devil of his human soul.

Jack o'Kent

Location: Grosmont (Gwent) - Churchyard wall
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local folk hero who constantly tricked the Devil, Jack was finally laid to rest under the churchyard wall to prevent Satan from taking his soul.

Moved

Location: Gunwalloe (Cornwall) - Church
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: During construction, the Devil moved the stones each night to where the church now stands.

Nightmare, by Jean-Pierre Simon.

Devil with his Pack

Location: Halesowen (West Midlands) - Between town and Lickey Hills
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: When boars lived wild, the Devil would periodically come out hunting with his hell hounds. They patrolled this area, inducing nightmares in any witness careless enough to watch them.

Dropped Hot Rock

Location: Hambleton (North Yorkshire) - Hood Hill
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown - stone still present?
Further Comments: Fleeing across the area with a stone lodged in his foot, the Devil shook his leg while passing over the hill. The stone fell upon the hill, with the Devil's footprint remaining visible.

Built by the Devil

Location: Hastings (Sussex) - Church, Hollington
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Local legend says that this church was erected by Old Nick himself, though his motives are unclear.

The Devil's Bridge

Location: Hebdon (North Yorkshire) - Dibble's Bridge, Yorkshire Dales National Park
Type: Legend - Old Nick
Date / Time: Bridge still present
Further Comments: In a rare moment of generosity, the Devil built the bridge for a local shoemaker who had shared a drink with him.